Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break". Did you mean to use "continue 2"? in /homepages/17/d273888569/htdocs/6thfloor/wp-includes/pomo/plural-forms.php on line 210 2008 February

6th Floor Blog

About 6th Floor Blog

6th Floor Blog is written in a conversational style. It focuses on the life and adventures of six roommates living in an apartment together in Manhattan. For our first post and a explanation for the colors, go here.

Occasionally we do these memes or tags or whatever you call them if we’re tagged. I always adapt it to the unique style of this six-person blog. This one from Brave Astronaut’s Order from Chaosrequests seven random things about you. I was thinking about how to get seven things out of six people, and it just so happened we were all drinking at Catalina’s Saturday night so I decided to ask Clarence, our favorite non-Ann server, to answer the question also, although I didn’t tell him why or what it was for. First the rules, as requested by the rules.

THE RULES:1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.2. Post THE RULES on your blog.3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.4. Tag 7 people and link to them.5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

“So Brave Astronaut has requested we all reveal one random or weird fact about ourselves. I know how you all tend to dislike my little round-robin sessions, but I hope the alcohol will loosen you all up.”

“So you liquored us all up and now you’re going to pry information out of us? That’s sneaky!”

“You’ll probably get weirder things out of us this way too.”

“That’s kind of the plan. It can be anything, random, silly, weird..whatever. It’s just a silly internet meme.”

“Oh, I’ve got one! I once fell asleep during work.”

“Fell asleep!? While driving a subway car? Billy!”

“It’d been a rough night the night before. Relax, we were stopped in a tunnel and I kind of drifted off. I woke up to ‘Yo, Billy. The light’s green, get us moving!’ I think they just thought I was zoning out.”

“I guess that’s better than sleeping through a stop or something. I once dated someone that had Triskaidekaphobia.”

“No way, there are actually people out there like that?”

“Definitely. He avoided anything with military time, because he never wanted it to be 13:00. If I asked him to pick up a dozen bagels, if the bagel shop measured it in baker’s dozens, he’d always insist they leave out the 13th bagel.”

“Wow. Crazy. I’m not surprised you’re no longer with him.”

“His thirteenth birthday must’ve been a nightmare.”

“I’m not positive on this, but I think he referred to it as his second 12th birthday.”

“Kind of like how my aunt keeps celebrating the anniversary of her 49th birthday so she’ll never turn 50.”

“Ha! That’s kind of cool.

‘How old are you this year?’

‘It’s the 11th anniversary of my 49th birthday.’

‘That’s..60? Happy Birthday!’

‘No! the 11th anniversary of 49. I’m not 60!’”

“Kind of like that, yes. My uncle’s been teasing her and saying he’s celebrating the 40th anniversary of his 18th birthday and silly stuff like that.”

Clarence: “Hey guys! You all good on appetizers? Need drink refills?”

We order drink refills and more breadsticks.

“Clarence, tell us something random or weird about yourself.”

Clarence: “Something weird huh..Why?”

“Just curious. Come on!”

Clarence: “Okay, I’ll think about it and come back with a super answer with your drinks okay?”

“Excellent!”

“Something weird for me…how about..I didn’t get a computer until 1998. I was the last person I knew to get one and be on the Internet.”

“Wow, that is late. You almost missed Y2K altogether.”

“Y2K..EVERYONE missed Y2K. Nothing happened!”

“That’s not true. I actually contracted a virus at Y2K.”

“Seriously?”

“I probably got it before Y2K actually. But New Years was the first time anything happened. My computer would crash every night at midnight on the dot for a long time after that.”

“You never got it fixed or anything?”

“I tried once or twice and couldn’t figure it out. I wasn’t quite as technically savvy at the time. And it was no big deal really, I just restarted at midnight if I was using the computer. Eventually I reformatted, but that was at least a year later.”

“Wow, I’m impressed. That’s the first time I’ve heard of something actually being affected by Y2K. And I can’t believe we’re talking about Y2K at all in 2008.”

“I once fell asleep on the LIRR visiting a friend out on the island. This was a while ago and I guess for what ever reason they didn’t feel like checking tickets. I ended up out by the Hamptons somewhere late at night.”

“Like that Friends episode where Ross is dating that girl upset and falls asleep on the train and ends up in Montreal?”

“Yeah. Kind of..except it was late at night and the next train back wasn’t for two hours. I’m just glad it was summer and not freezing cold.”

“Could’ve walked to the beach.”

“I was afraid of getting lost. I didn’t have a cellphone yet.”

“Ahh. I see.”

Clarence: “Here are your drinks!”

“You think of something interesting to tell us?”

Clarence: “I thought of something. It’s not that unheard of here, but I don’t know how to drive.”

“That’s not that weird in Manhattan. It’s probably better than all the other people who have licenses but haven’t driven in years. Then they get behind the wheel on vacation or something and are totally out of their element.”

“I’d miss driving. I always feel like it’s getting back on a bicycle; I pick it right back up even if I haven’t driven in a month.”

“Not everyone has the same muscle memory. I barely have driven more than Driver’s Ed and the road test. You had years of practice before you moved here.”

“I guess I have. It’s your turn Scott, don’t think you’re weaseling out of it now that we’ve all answered.”

“I’ve never been on a plane. The farthest from here I’ve ever been was Washington DC on a school trip once.”

“One day we should have a 6th Floor Road Trip!!”

Clarence: “Do you invite 6th Floor Servers on your trip?”

“Of course. That would be a terrific idea Sara.”

Frank leans over and whispers towards Clarence. “No Cindy though.”

Okay, so that’s done. Seven things. I’m not going to tag anyone else, because I don’t like doing that, however if you want to, feel free, let me know and I’ll link to it even. Does anyone have any suggestions on where would be fun for Scott’s inaugural plane trip for a 6th floor vacation?

“This is one of those days where I’m glad I’m not working so I don’t have to fight with subway delays and slushie street corners.”

“This is the first real storm we’ve had with accumulation, I can’t believe it’s almost March.”

“Probably the last one too.” Frank says, emerging from his room to see what all the commotion is about.

“I checked the weather, It’s supposed to be a little warmer this weekend, probably going to melt most of it.”

“That means there will be all sorts of business people leaping over huge puddles of water in intersections come Monday morning. There is nothing funnier than a guy in a suit rushing to work stepping in a puddle and soaking his pant leg halfway up to his knee.”

“You take some real pleasure out of other people’s misfortune don’t you?”

“Hey, did you know CBS has created a huge free wireless area from Times Square to Central Park South between 6th and 8th avenue? I love it!”

“No I didn’t. That’s pretty cool. It works everywhere?”

“Yup, laptops, phones, handhelds.. Can sit down anywhere and browse the World Wide Web.”

“Dude, no one calls it the World Wide Web anymore.”

“Oh whatever. I connected from a Starbucks just north of Times Square today. Screw you T-Mobile!”

“The rates for the T-Mobile hot zones aren’t even good if it’s your only Internet provider. It’s crazy. Occasionally I’ll utilize a free connection in the park, but not in the winter. I’ll have to check out this CBS zone.”

“I was only on it for a little while, but there are some ads and all, which is no big deal. Oh, and in some cases there are zillions of wireless signals floating around midtown that you sometimes have to restart or refresh the search a lot to find the good ones.”

“Maybe I’ll take my laptop out and do my job searches outside of the house. Make myself feel like I was productive if I’m not home.”

“I know the feeling, I don’t think I could ever work from home.”

“I dunno, sleeping until noon. Making my own hours. Taking breaks whenever the hell I want. I dig it.”

“Your job is a lot cooler than ours though.”

“Well, that’s true. Working distracted never cost either of you thousands of dollars either though.”

“Nope, not yet.”

“I wish I had thousands of dollars to risk!”

“Speaking of free wireless, do you know what I found out recently? Panera Bread’s free wireless now has peak time limits! I was at one in the afternoon, and it kicked me off and said I’d used my 30 minute quota for the peak lunch crowd!”

“Oh, that sucks. No workaround? Restarting or anything? I wonder if you could use a proxy to trick it into thinking it’s a different computer. Probably not.. Maybe it simply checks your computer name? Too simple..It probably checks your mac address. Oh well. Guess Panera Bread is off the midday wireless list.”

“I’m rarely up at that time anyway, but what if they do it during the dinner rush too? That’s lame! It said something about wanting you to get up to make table space for other customers.”

“I guess that makes sense. It’d be nice if you could do something like entering a receipt number to get an extra hour or something.”

“Yeah. I’d gladly buy another mocha or a cinnamon bun to sit there longer. Now I’m just going to go there less in general.”

“That’s what makes this CBS zone thing so great. Legitimately free wireless. I can deal with ads, there are ads everywhere. It’s gotten to the point where things look weird without ads.”

“Yeah. I agree. I have to test it out more to see if it’s really reliable. It’s only been up like a month or two, so they probably still have some bugs in coverage or something.”

“Probably need some time to get the kinks out.”

“Maybe now I’ll have less boring people hanging around in Starbucks nursing a latte for six hours on their laptops while I’m trying to get a table to hang with Scott on his breaks. They can all run away to Times Square. I’m sure they’ll find plenty of inspiration there.”

“Six hours? That’s kind of crazy. I usually at least order a second drink to nurse when I’m hanging out all day!”

“Scott tells me there are some that order plenty throughout the day when they hang out. I worry for their health though. Some of them easily ingest in excess of a gram of caffeine.”

“That I got us some Cadbury Mini Eggs? I got us six bags. I figure we could have a race and see who finishes theirs first.”

“Great idea!”

“No. That’s stupid. I’m not shoving a bag full of chocolate eggs in my mouth as fast as I can.”

“Party pooper!”

“Yeah, come on. It’ll be fun!”

“No it won’t. It’ll be disgusting.”

“I’m going to have to agree with Tabitha. I’m not really into those eggs anyway. I prefer the big crème filled ones.”

“I’ll play. What else have I got to do anyway?”

“I can’t believe you bought six bags…and you’re unemployed.”

“A girl can’t be mopey all day long. I need my chocolate.”

“The best bet would have been to not get fired.”

Sara just glares at Tabitha.

“Whatever. Are you in Scott?”

“Chocolate, competitions, possibly getting sick? What’s not to love?”

“Good. We have two extra bags..maybe we should do a little single elimination tournament?”

“You are proposing we eat a second bag afterwards? Let’s just leave those to eat during the week okay?”

“Yeah, you know how Tabitha gets when there is vomit all over the place.”

“Everyone’s cleaning up their own vomit. Girl’s room is off limits, so if you’re going to puke Sara, use their bathroom.”

“I’m not going to puke. Relax.”

“Yeah Tab, just think of the chocolate as Sara’s valentine’s gift to you.”

“You shouldn’t feel obligated to put out though.”

“Yes she should.”

“You’re right, yes you should.”

“Screw you all!” Tabitha says, and storms away.

“You guys ready? Sure you don’t want in Ann?”

“I’m sure. I actually think it might be more fun watching. I’ll be the judge.”

They start on Ann’s signal and start shoving chocolate eggs in their mouth. They start making a colossal mess as shattered candy shells spray out of their too-full mouths to add to the mess of the crumbs of the overturned bags.

“You guys have to see this horrible movie that’s coming out Friday.” Billy says, emerging from his room.

“Why would I want to see it if it’s so bad?”

“It’s like a car crash where you just can’t look away. It has Paris Hilton in it. The movie title itself proclaims her to be a ‘hottie’.”

“Pretty bad marketing move on their part. Let’s check this out, boot it up over there on good ‘ole Sammy.”

(Sammy is the fairly outdated clunker of a computer Frank donated to the living room. It’s short for Samantha.)

“The Hottie and the Nottie? Could you have a lamer movie title?”

“Christine Lakin is the ‘Nottie’? She’s so much hotter than Paris Hilton.”

“What’s she been in?”

“I saw her in the Game Plan a couple of weeks ago. I checked her IMDB page, she’s been in a couple of things here and there. Reefer Madness the Musical for instance.”

“So nothing good then? This movie looks horrible!”

“Even outside of the ‘Paris Hilton is a skanky slutbag’ angle, it still doesn’t look good.”

“I’m not surprised I’ve seen no commercials for it.”

“What were they thinking casting her? I imagine she probably doesn’t die horribly like in House of Wax either.”

“I’m certainly not going to watch it to find out.”

“Over/Under on how many millions this makes in the box office?”

“I’m thinking four. Max.”

“I’ll take the under on that.”

“How much did Gigli make? Like six or seven? This looks even worse.”

Billy looks up the box office numbers. “It made just over six million in the US. Cost 54 million to make. Ouch…It got a 6% on Rotten Tomatoes.”

“Nine positive, 147 negative. I’m surprised nine people liked it.”

“It must be nice to have money. You can star in or make crappy movies whenever you want.”

“One day we’re going to look back on this decade and cringe that Paris Hilton was even worthy of discussion.”

“One day? I think we’re at that point already.”

“I agree. This movie is just a waste of energy to show on a screen. I feel bad for the people running the projectors that have to watch it. This is the kind of movie that movie critics refer to when they talk about ‘paying their dues’.”

“You never know, maybe she does end up dying horribly in the end.”

“That should be in the trailer. It’d easily double their box office figures.”

“Did you see this article on Monday’s Times? It’s about the Maria Bartiromo ads I was ranting about.”

“No I didn’t. Why, did they mention the blog?”

“No, shockingly it seems like they don’t read it. It was talking about how most people don’t really remember the message, and that they find them annoying.”

“Well, you scooped them on that. You should email the columnist a link to the entry.”

“Isn’t that a little tacky?”

“So? Worst case is she ignores you. Email her from the blog email address, it’s virtually anonymous then. Did they say they were going to do away with the announcements?”

“No,” Says Sara, looking up from the paper. “Looks like they added Al Roker to the mix.”

“The article wasn’t even that good. It likened the spots to a previous ad campaign to have celebrities try to convince taxi riders to buckle up.”

“I heard about that one. Screw the celebrities, let me do the announcements!”

“I think I’d get tired of hearing your voice too. The article mentions Al Roker, but it doesn’t mention that they also added one of the 1010wins voices, I can’t remember who though. Not driving much I don’t listen.”

“At least it’s just on the fringe services, not the main subway lines.”

“Still annoying if you’re spending any length of time in Penn or Grand Central though.”

“It says they’re on a timer, but I’ve definitely heard it three times in a quick span, and not at all during other times.”

“The other ones were pretty loud and jarring, but the Roker one was actually too quiet. You might not even hear it.”

“Hey Ann, you going to try to do another horrendous job of photoshopping Jose Reyes onto the 7 train image?”

“No, I gave up. The problem was I couldn’t find a nice 7 train image online to use. Although if your going to email that post, maybe I should make it better..”

“I said you should email it, not me. You couldn’t find the logo? I’m sure there are a million of them on google images.”

After spending the day proclaiming myself the premier Giants fan in the apartment, Ann demanded that I write this post after the game. Frank’s a Panther fan, Sara and Billy like the Jets, Ann calls herself a Bills fan, and Tabitha, when I demanded she pick a team, chose the Browns because she thought it was a silly name for a football team.

Action continues at the end of the fourth quarter.

“There is still one second left! Get off the field so we can finish this!”

“Why bother? Do we really need to go through the process of Eli catching a football to finalize it? He’s not going to drop it and then have the Patriots recover for a touchdown, that’s just stupid.”

“League rules though.”

“They’ve already hit Coughlin with the Gatorade, that’s good enough for me.”

“Some good commercials though.”

“Hey, let’s bask in the glory of the Giants championship a little before we discuss mundane advertisements.”

“The last time the Mets won the World Series, it was after the Giants won the Super Bowl.”

“Aren’t you jinxing it a little bit?”

“Nah. Come to think of it, the last time the other local football team won, the Mets won the World Series also.”

“Well, maybe the Mets win and then it’s the Jets turn next year?”

“That’s definitely a jinx.”

“Anything in association with the Jets is a jinx.”

“I liked the Thanksgiving balloon commercial with Stewie and Underdog racing for the bottle of coke.”

“Oh fine. Let’s discuss the commercials. It was a little surprising to see Charlie Brown of all people prevail though.”

“Brown never prevails. He’s like the Jets.”

“Stewie is usually foiled too…and Underdog by nature is not favored to win.”

“Good point.”

“The Garmin ad where the reenacter shamefully hides the electronic device after he uses it to get there was funny. I like the catchy song too, Garmin, Garmiiin.” Sara sings.